The U.S. EPA will scrap a Biden-era methane emissions rule originally aimed at oil and gas operators, according to reporting from The San Joaquin Valley Sun. The rollback marks a shift in federal enforcement priorities with downstream effects on landfill gas capture, biogas developers, and methane-monitoring vendors serving the waste sector.

What was the original rule?

The Biden administration finalized the EPA Methane Emissions Reduction Program in December 2023. It established performance standards for new and existing oil and gas operations across the value chain.

The rule required leak detection and repair programs at wellheads, gathering lines, and processing plants. It set a fee on emissions exceeding specified thresholds, with the charge scheduled to reach $900 per metric ton of CO2 equivalent by 2026.

Operators had begun deploying optical gas imaging, fixing high-bleed pneumatic controllers, and replacing atmospheric storage tanks. The rule also codified methane as a regulated pollutant under Section 111 of the Clean Air Act.

How does this affect the waste sector?

The rescission targets upstream and midstream oil and gas operations. It does not directly touch landfill gas capture systems or agricultural digesters.

Those programs operate under separate Clean Air Act authorities. NSPS Subpart XXX governs municipal solid waste landfills, while state rules cover dairy and swine digesters.

Landfill operators will continue capturing methane for flaring or electricity generation regardless of the rollback. However, voluntary carbon credit demand may soften if federal methane pricing disappears.

What about biogas and renewable natural gas?

RNG developers had planned to monetize avoided methane under state Low Carbon Fuel Standards and federal voluntary programs. Without the EPA methane fee, the price signal for capture projects weakens.

Biogas project economics will tilt more heavily toward LCFS credit revenue. California's LCFS credits currently trade in a range that varies by pathway and feedstock.

Capturing methane at landfills and farms also produces avoided-emission credits under protocols run by the Climate Action Reserve and Verra. Those voluntary markets will absorb compliance demand that federal regulation previously captured.

Who is most exposed?

Oil and gas producers in the San Joaquin Valley, Permian Basin, and Bakken face the largest compliance-cost reversal. The 2023 rule had projected cumulative methane reductions of 80 million metric tons through 2038.

That target is now off the table unless states adopt equivalent standards. California's SB 1381, Colorado's HB 19-1261, and New Mexico's methane rules will continue to bind in-state operators regardless of federal action.

What's the regulatory milestone?

The decisive next moment is publication of a proposed rescission in the Federal Register. Alternatively, Congress could pass a joint resolution under the Congressional Review Act to invalidate the rule.

Until either step occurs, the December 2023 rule technically remains on the books. Compliance officers at midstream and upstream operators should preserve documentation of LDAR investments, vapor recovery unit installations, and continuous monitoring deployments.

That paperwork may prove valuable if state programs or future federal rules require proof of prior action. Methane-tracking software vendors should expect continued state-level demand even with federal retrenchment.

What should waste-sector compliance teams do?

Landfill operators and RNG developers should continue tracking the EPA's air and radiation docket for the formal rescission filing. State methane rules will continue driving demand for capture equipment, monitoring services, and abatement hardware.

Companies that invested in capture technology, monitoring, or methane abatement hardware should preserve expenditure documentation. Voluntary markets, including the Climate Action Reserve's methane protocol, may absorb compliance demand that federal regulation previously captured.

The administration has signaled that broader "energy dominance" policy will determine the pace of deregulation across EPA air programs. Until a formal Federal Register action, every operator remains bound by the December 2023 rule as written.